Submarine escape boat



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SUBMARINE E'SCAFE BOAT. APPLICATION FILED ria. I2, 1921.

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I N VEN TOR.

IWWSSES 0. TERVO.

SUBMARINE ESCAPE BOAT.. APPLICATION FILED FEB,12, 1921-.

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INVENToR. /f/f/rfs s55 I 0.. TERVO..

SUBMARINE ESCAPEVBOAT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB, 1-2, 1921*.

, 1,405,728. Patented Fem, 1922.

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SC'i //Z INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

0. TERVO.

SUBMARINE ESCAPE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB, I2, 1921.

1,405,728. Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

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cali rift/L [NVE-WOR WiFi/55155 ATTORNEY.

UNITEDl STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HILL, 0F QUINGY, MASSACHUSETTS.

SUEMARINE ESCAPE BOAT.

Specification vof Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

Application led- February 1,2, 1921. Serial No. 444,457.

T 0 a-'ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, OSCAR Tnnvo, a citizen of Russia, residing at Quincy, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Submarine Escape Boats, of which the following is a specification. Y

This invention relates to a combination submarine and life boat, the principal object of which is to equip a submarine with a life' boat which may be used Vby the submarine crew in an emergency.` y

Another object of the invention is to provide a life boat attached to a submarine which is readily detachablefrom the sub-YY marine and which iS navigable entirely inde# pendently ofthe submarine so as to carry the crew to a point of safety.

A still further object of the 'invention is to provide a life boat which isv attached to the submarine and is submergible simultaneously with the latter, the boat being of a construction which will not appreciably retard the progress of the submarine oiothe'rwise inconvenience the latter, at the same time being ample to accommodate the occupants of the submarine and to carry them in convenience and safety.

The above and other objects 4of this invention will be in part described and in partl understood from the following description of the presentrpreferred embodiment of the in# vention Jtaken in connectionkwith the `accompanying drawings, wherein:` Y K' Fig. 1,\is a longitudinal sectional view of a device ,constructed in `accordance withV this invention, a portion of the submarine being broken away.

Fig. 2, is avertical Sectional View of the'- same.

Fig. 3', is a fragmentary detail bottom plan view of the hatch which leads yinto the life boat. ,y l

Fig. l4, is a detail fragmentary sectional View taken ,through the hatch way and illus-l the submarine is equipped with bulkheads 7 i Vpreferably at the rear of theconning tower of thesubmarine, a hatchway 8 ismounted.

. This hatch-way is of a cylindrical configurationland extends downwardly into the submarine for an appreciable distance. The lower end of the hatch-way has a right angledv Vflange 9 fixedly secured to its inner periphery. This flange is connected with a concentric ring 10 by means of connecting straps 11. l The upper end ofthe hatch-way extendsl above the top of the submarine and is securedto the` latter in any desired A hatch 12 is hingedly connected to the y ring 10 and is equippedwith a pair of levers 13 and 14, the former of which is arranged on top of the hatchand the latter arranged beneath the hatch. The said lever 14 has a .portion of one of its ends extended to provide a-locking nose 15 which is engageable with a lug 16 arranged on the inner periphery of the ring 1Q. It will be noted that the levers 13 and 14 are connected` by a shaft shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4. When pressureis exerted upon either oneY of said levers, the shaft .is rotated to impart a corresponding movement to the other lever.

A life boat 17, constructed in accordance with .this invention, ismounted upon the submarine 6. Preferably, thelife boat 'is completely enclosed, in much the same manf ner as a submarine, and is equipped with an engine 18 which communicates power to a propeller 19. hatches 2O formed in its top which may be of the usual .or any desired construction. Lights 21 depend from the ceiling and Vmay beY lighted by a storage battery or other source of energy which maybe, if desired, stored in a chamber 22 formed in one end ofk the boat. The opposite `end of the boat is divided to provide a compartment 23 which may lconstitute a gasoline tank for supplying the engine with fuel. A rudder shaft 24 extends vertically through the rear end of the boat and has its rudder 25 arranged directly to the rear of the propeller 19. If desired, seats, Such as lshown at 26, may be formed Moreover, the life boat has along the inner sides of the boat so as to conj veniently carry the passengers.

Depending from the boat 17 is an annulus 27 which is provided with a recess, the latter carrying a gasket 28. The gasket 28 is engaged with the upper terminal of the hatchway'8 and is. preferably made of rubber so as to form a water-tight connection between the life boat and the submarine.

In order to hold the submarine and life boat in engagement with each other a suitable locking means generally designated 29 is provided which consists of a pair of segmental gears 30 pivotally mounted on the bottom of the boat 17. The locking means further embodies levers 31, one end of each `of which is pivotally engaged with one of the gears 30, while the opposite end is adapted for slidable engagement through locking blocks '32 carried by the boat and locking blocks 33 carried by the submarine. The levers 31 are arched around the hatch-way 8 in order to prevent interference of the levers with persons passing through Vthe latter. Auxiliary locking levers 34 are pivotally engaged with the gears 30 and are likewise slidably arranged through locking blocks 32 and 33. The gears 30 are simultaneously operated by a pinion 35 which is mounted upon the lower end of a rod 36, the latter eX- tending upwardly through a water-tight connection in the bottom of the boatl and having an operating wheel 37 formed on its upper end. Rotation of said wheel 37 imparts movement to the levers 31 and 34 to disengage the same from the blocks 32 and 33 so as to permit the life boat to free itself from the submarine. In order to limit the movement of said levers, complemental abutment blocks 38 are formed upon the levers 31 and 34 and likewise upon the top of the submarine.

formed in the hatch-way 8, which might retard disengagement of the life boat from the submarine, even after the lookin mechanism has been released, suitable mec anism is provided to permit a gradual influx of water into the hatch-way 8 simultaneously `with the disengagement of the Ylocking engages the valve.

means. The said mechanism consists especially of 'a valve 39 whichis mounted in a right` angled conduit, one end 40 of the conduit constituting an inlet which is arranged in proximity to the outer periphery of the hatch-way 8, as shown to advantage in Fig. 5. The opposite end of the conduit constitutes an outlet 41 which is arranged on the interior of the hatch-way. Movement of the valve is controlled by a valve lever 42one end of the latter being pivotally mounted upon one of the gears 30 and the opposite end pivotally connected with a link 43,which Consequently, when the gears 30 are operated, the valve 39 will be opened, thereby permitting water to flow into the hatchway.

Depending from the boat 17 is a circular collar 44, which is arranged concentric to the annulus 27 and spaced therefrom. The said collar depends into the hatch-way 8, as shown in'F ig. 4, and is equipped with a hatch 45 which is identical in configuration to the hatch 12 and is connected to the collar 44 in the same manner as the hatch 12 is connected to the ring 10. f

.In order to control the velocity with which the boat 17 will rise to the surface of the water, suitable ballast blocks 46 are provided which may, if desired, be engaged with the bottom of the boat, at the sides of the latter, as shown in Fig. 2. Preferably, these blocks are channeled as indicated at 47 to receive brackets 48, the latter being mounted upon the boat.

Detachable releas- Y ing levers 49 extendV through the side walls of the boat into engagement with the ballast block 46'so as to disengage thelatter from the brackets 48 when desired. These levers 49 may be arranged beneath the seats 26 'so as to be out of the way of the occupants of the boat, at the same time being readily accessible if occasion should demand;

If upon operating the locking mechanism 29 heavy to permit proper elevation, any one or all Vof the ballast blocks may be released.

In use of -this device, if perchance the submarine should be rendered inoperative for any reason, the ,crew of the submarine may enter the life boat 17 by first openin'gthe hatch 12 following whichthe hatch 45 is opened, thereby placing the submarine and life boat in direct communication. VAfter the crew has transferred from the submarine to the life boat, the hatches are locked Y f in an apparent manner andthe locking In order to prevent a vacuum from being.

mechanism 29 released bythe manipulation of the operating wheel 37. The life boat will be carried to the surface of the water,

because of its buoyancy, and may be then operatedl on the surface of the water in a manner well known in the art. When the desired destination has been reached, the

crew may exit through the hatches 20.

In using this device it is preferred that the life boat be arranged on the submarine at the rear end of the latter in view of the fact that as a rule the forward end of the submarine, in front of the conning tower, equipped with various instrumentalities. Since it would be unnecessary for the life boat to carry any appreciable quantity of supplies, etc., it is apparent that practically thel entire interior thereof may bevused for accommodating the crew which is transferred from the submarine. It is to be understood that various changes may be made in this device, especially inthe details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A life boat attachment for submarines,

in combination With a submarine boat, a life boat arranged on vto of the Submarine, a hatch-Way mounted 1n the submarine and communicable With the life boat, independent hatches carriedby both the life boat and submarine boat to close communication through the hatch-Way, means for disconnecting the life boat from the submarine boat, and Valve means controlled by said second mentionedV means to admit Water pressure to the underside of the life boat hatch When the first said means is operated to prevent a vacuum from forming in the hatch-Way.

2. An attachment for submarines including a life boat mounted upon the submarine, a hatchway mounted in the submarine with its upper end projecting above the latter,

means carried by the life boat to engagek the hatchway, locking rods for holding said means snugly in engagement with the hatch- Way, means to operate said rods for releasing the life boat, and a valved conduit communicating With said hatchway and automatically released by the valve operatin means to permit gradual introduction o Water into the hatchway substantially as described. l

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

OSCAR TERVO. Witnesses:

HJALMAR HARLIN, MATILDA HARLIN, 

